Luke Fickell explains how Wisconsin came away optimistic after bowl loss to LSU

Wisconsin finished the regular season 7-5 last year before falling to LSU in the ReliaQuest Bowl. While the Badgers didn’t take home the victory, head coach Luke Fickell felt encouraged by the effort and feels that it has continued into the offseason.

Joining On3’s Andy Staples on Monday, Fickell broke down the origin of his optimism and why he’s feeling so confident in his team’s abilities since the end of bowl season.

“It’s more so than even just the game,” Fickell explained. “Just how the preparation went, how you don’t have some of those guys that play in those games. And it’s hard but in reality, in a lot of those games, as you get to the bowl game, it’s what you’re looking at for the following year. That’s when we saw a different kind of group of guys that had to step up and they did a great job of preparation and did a great job making sure that there’s an expectation that you’re going out to play and how you expect to play and obviously that didn’t work out.

“We didn’t win, but you feel like, ‘Okay, we’re going in the direction we need to go to continue to grow.’ We still have a long way to go. But there were some things even from the coaching standpoint, to offense, defense, and all in all areas.”

The biggest question for Wisconsin next season is whether it’ll be veteran transfer Tyler Van Dyke or junior Braedyn Locke under center for the Badgers next season. Fickell said that it’s a plus that Locke already has a year of experience in his offense under his belt while Van Dyke had to learn a whole new offense.

Fickell praised Locke’s consistency but said Van Dyke is also in a good place. His biggest takeaway from the spring quarterback battle was that it was a “legitimate competitive battle.” While it’s a luxury to have a set starter from day one, Fickell is enjoying seeing the natural competitiveness of the battle and hopes it continues into the summer.

Whether it’s Locke or Van Dyke, Fickell’s decision will come before the Aug. 31 season opener against Western Michigan. Wisconsin will have two weeks, including a Week 2 battle against South Dakota, to make any changes to their lineup before their best effort is needed when they welcome Alabama to Camp Randall Stadium on Sept. 14.